Irish Airsoft Association (IAA)

Irish Airsoft Association (IAA)

Due to increasing media exposure the Irish Airsoft Association feels it is necessary to issue a press release indicating its position and clarifying certain points. This press release is intended to dispel the common misconceptions and urban myths surrounding the sport of Airsoft within Ireland.

Introduction

What is Airsoft?

Airsoft in its current form began in the early 1980’s when the first devices came on to the market. Small groups of enthusiasts came together to form clubs and later those clubs would give rise to dedicated venues specifically designed for the sport.

At its most basic, Airsoft is a “tag” sport in a similar vein to Paintball where the object of the game is to “tag” your opponent with a projectile in order to remove that player from the game.

Airsoft is played by thousands of people across the globe from all age groups and levels of fitness. Some people compete on a regular basis as a member of a team while others prefer to attend “re-enactment” style events. It’s a thrilling game drawing on physical fitness, concentration, reflexes and mental agility.

Similar games to Airsoft

Airsoft is similar in many ways to games that the general public are already familiar with, Laser Tag (Quazar) and Paintball for example, and operates under very similar rule sets. Essentially all of these games are sophisticated forms of “tag” played with ranged “markers” or “taggers”. Of these we will focus on Paintball since it has both the most in common with Airsoft and the fact that there are more and more paintball ranges appearing in Ireland today.

Paintball games are generally more competition oriented these days with large amounts of financial sponsorship and a number of full time professional players and teams. Airsoft currently does not enjoy the same sponsorship and tends to focus more on scenario and MilSim (Military Simulation) style games. Two common examples of Airsoft (and indeed Paintball) are:

“Woods Ball”

Generally played in woodland areas where the players, divided in to teams, are pitted against one another in a series of scenarios such as capture the flag, king of the hill, siege games, etc. This is the most common perception of both Airsoft and Paintball and is the most widely played at the venues in Ireland and the UK.

“MilSim”

MilSim games are usually much longer and far more involved than woods ball games. Essentially re-enactment or role-playing, MilSim is usually a full day and night or weekend of play wherein the players take on the roles of military personnel in order to follow a set story line and achieve a number of preset goals in the form of missions. Attention to detail is often surprisingly high amongst MilSim players who, in order to more full immerse themselves in the role, make large investments in their equipment for the most convincing look and feel.

The equipment

Paintball and Airsoft share more similarities in the field of equipment. Most paintball venues supply camouflage overalls to players to protect their clothes from the paint and both sports insist on eye protection as a bare minimum to protect from unlikely, but still potential, accidental injury.

Where Airsoft and Paintball tend to differ is in the tag devices. Paintball players use “Markers”, which are powered by compressed gas and fire 3gram paint filled cellulose balls at about 300 feet per second. The design of these Markers is most often very simple and designed for practicality rather than aesthetics however MilSim paintball players often invest in much more realistic looking markers designed as replicas of modern firearms.

Airsoft devices are quite different in that they are most often highly detailed and specifically targeted towards the MilSim and Woods Ball players. These Airsoft devices or “taggers” use a 6mm plastic round weighing about 0.2gm which is accelerated either by electric motor or gas charge and travels at about 325 feet per second.

When you are hit with a paintball the cellulose shell shatters splattering paint over the affected area. The impact of the paintball, though certainly capable of stinging, rarely results in anything more serious than a small bruise or welt

The impact of an Airsoft round will sting sharply for a few seconds and may leave a small bruise or red mark if it hits bare skin. The low velocity and low weight of the Airsoft round ensures its safe use by players.

Device / Projectile / Average Speed / Muzzle Energy / Power Source
Airsoft / 6mm 0.2g Plastic Pellet (most common) / 250-325 Fps (80-90 m/s) / Generally less than 1 joule / Battery or Low-pressure gas
Paintball / 3g Cellulose or Plastic Ball (approximate 1.5 - 2cm) / 300 Fps (90m/s) / Between 11 and 15 joules / Compressed gas

As you can see, Paintball Markers create a much larger force than an Airsoft device.

In the real world a joule is the equivalent of the energy required to lift a small apple (102g) one meter against Earth’s gravity, one hundredth of the energy a person can get by drinking a single 5mm diameter droplet of beer, or the kinetic energy of a tennis ball dropped from 1 meter under Earth’s gravity.

Safety & Urban Myths

The perception that many people have of Airsoft is coloured by the equipment and apparel used by the players. This has lead to a number of misconceptions, myths and some concern about the sport, not the least of which is the safety issues.

Safety is the primary concern of any responsible venue operator and players of Airsoft. It is also an inherent feature of the device design and equipment used during skirmishes.

All players wear protective goggles or ballistic goggles designed to withstand impacts higher than those of the plastic Airsoft rounds. Use of eye protection is mandatory on all sites in Ireland and the UK and is the generally accepted practice amongst all Airsoft players.

In addition to eyewear, many players choose to wear plastic or cushioned neoprene masks to protect their face and teeth. Military grade helmets are common, as are kneepads and the vast majority of players wear gloves to protect their fingers and hands. While there is no danger of serious injury, most players prefer to avoid the sharp stings of Airsoft rounds impacting their hands.

Venues always have what is called a “safe zone”. In this area every Airsoft device must be switched to “safe” and the magazine removed before entry. This ensures that no accidents can take place in the presence of people who may not be wearing their eye protection.

Further to this, many venues adopt a “fire zone only” policy, which means that the Airsoft devices outside of the actual play area must be inactive (safety on and magazine out) regardless of whether a player is in a designated “safe zone” or not.

Finally, all Airsoft games and venues, like Paintball and Laser tag, have marshals operating within the play area. The purpose of this is to make sure that the rules of the game are followed (eliminated players leaving the play area, etc) and that the safety rules are adhered to. Marshall’s also provide an additional layer of safety in that, should the worst happen and a player is injured, the game can be stopped immediately and the injured party can be safely and quickly removed from the play area and given whatever appropriate first aid or medical attention is required.

Regardless of this, there are still a number of misconceptions that surround the Airsoft devices and the sport in general. We will attempt to dispel a number of this but please keep in mind that it is not feasible to cover every potential misconception and we make no claim to do so.

Examples of common misconceptions;

Airsoft devices are dangerous, can cause injury or even kill!

Airsoft devices are specifically designed to be harmless beyond a sharp sting. According to the law, the legal and scientific threshold for any projectile round to cause a wound is greater than 1.35 joules of muzzle energy[1]. All Airsoft devices used in skirmishes producemuzzle energy at or below 1 joule, that is, more than 20% less than the defined energy required for any round to cause any significant injury.

Many people claim that an impact with the human eye, even at such low velocities, could result in the loss of the eye or other significant permanent damage. This is also erroneous since the 1joule limit takes into account the resilience of the human eye.

It is currently recognised by the British Home Office and forensic science service that projectiles with muzzle energy of less that 1.35j are “incapable of penetrating even vulnerable parts of the body, such as the eye, although a direct hit from very close range would cause bruising”[2]

Furthermore, it has also been noted that “assessments by forensic scientists had indicated that the minimum muzzle energy required to inflict a penetrating wound lay between 2.2 and 3.0 ft/lb (foot pounds), or 3-4 joules.”[3]

Airsoft devices are illegal in Ireland.

The current law in Irelandexempts any device launching a projectile with muzzle energy not exceeding 1 joule from classification as a firearm[4]. Therefore, Airsoft devices are indeed legal and in fact fall under the definition of “projectile toys” under the definitions set by European standards.

The IAA acknowledges that people may take exception with their legality on the grounds of theirarguing that they should have some kind of restriction or legislation applied to their purchase, import and operation. The IAA fully supports fair and balanced legislation to prevent the misuse of Airsoft equipment so long as it does not impact negatively on the Airsofting community.

Airsoft devices are the same thing as BB guns and Air Guns.

No, they are not. The IAA does however understand that there is some confusion in this regard.

To clarify:

Air Guns are weapons which propel a lead projectile at high velocity and are typically used for target shooting and hunting very small game (rodents etc).Air guns use compressed gas and generate muzzle energy in the region of 17joules. Such muzzle energy is far in excess of the physical capabilities of any Airsoft device.

A BB gun (wherein the “BB” is actually a gauge rather than a contraction of “ball bearing”) is a weapon that propels a metalprojectile at high velocities by means of an explosive charge or compressed gas.BB guns are capable of achieving muzzle velocitiesin excess of 1000 feet per second and are often used for rabbits and other small animals as well as for target shooting. These uses and stats are also far outside the potential of an Airsoft device and distinction should be drawn.

An Airsoft device is a precision sporting device designed to safely propel a plastic bead or ball at speeds in the region of 300 feet per second. Airsoft rounds and devices are incapable of producing the energy required to cause harm and as such are suitable for player-to-player “tagging”.

Airsoft devices could be loaded with metal shot making them lethal weapons.

Airsoft devices are precision devices that are designed to operate within specific parameters.

First, the weight of a metal round is far higher than that of an Airsoftround[5], which means that an Airsoft device is unable to generate sufficient energy to propel the metal round with any significant velocity.

Second, the internal gearboxes of Airsoft devices, the part of the device which loads the pellet from the magazine into the barrel, are constructed to deal with a very light, and very specifically dimensioned[6] projectile. Any attempt to force the gearbox to cope with vastly heavier objects (>1.5g), or objects not meeting the tolerances mentioned in footnote 6, will severely damage the device.

Third, the barrel of an Airsoft device is specifically machined to very exact tolerances[7], any attempt to pass anything but an Airsoft specific pellet through them will result in one of two things happening. Either the projectile will be too small to form an air seal and will simply roll out of the barrel, or it will be too large, and jam in it.

Finally, the spring or clockworks in the magazines of Airsoft devices lack the power to raise a metal round into the firing position, making it nearly impossible to load alternative rounds in the first place.

Airsoft will lead people to want to buy real firearms.

There is no such thing as a “gate way sport”. If an Airsoft player wishes to take the time to learn to operate, store and maintain a firearm that is legally purchased, licensed and registered then there is no problem.

Airsoft, as a sport, has nothing to do with actual firearms and the IAA make it clear that any member who operates an actual firearm does so outside of the remit of the IAA and Airsoft.

Airsoft devices are regularly used in crimes.

Possibly,but it is doubtful they are used more often than knives, syringes, hammers, baseball bats, hurly sticks or real firearms. It is the intent of the perpetrator of a crime that is the problem and not the object used so while this statement may actually have some grounds in fact it is, by its very nature, irrelevant.

Airsoft and Paintball glorify violence, war and crime.

This is a common point of view. It is also exactly the same one that many people have towards video games, rock/heavy metal/rap music, modern cinema, television shows and the news. It is nonsense and there has never been a conclusive study to show that partaking in a sport increases the chances that people will be involved in violent crime. In fact, martial arts classes, which specifically teach people how to injure one another, are known to reduce the likelihood of someone being involved in belligerent activities.

Case Study: Airsoft in the UK

We have chosen the United Kingdom for a case study in order to further support Airsoft as a legitimate sport in Ireland.

Airsoft is an established hobby in the UK with more than 10,000 regular participants.

There was, however, some concern recently regarding the position of Airsoft in relation to the Violent Crime Reduction bill (November 2006). Provisions of the bill would have made the ownership and operation of Airsoft equipment illegal.

The part of the VCR bill which was causing concern was proposed provisions regarding replica firearms. Unfortunately, as is the case in many situations where the full facts are not available to the legislature, the provisions of the bill were the equivalent of cracking a walnut with a sledgehammer.

As a result of representation started by the UKASGB[8]on the behalf of the British Airsofting public, a meeting was finally arranged betweenBritish Minister of State Mr. Tony McNulty,the UKASGB, the UKARA[9] and the ABA. It was on account of this meeting that an agreement was reached, and a defence for Airsoft was sanctioned by Mr. McNulty with regard to the VCR bill. While there is still some debate over how this defence will be implemented the result has been the protection of Airsoft as a sport.

For further information on the VCR bill in relation to Airsoft in the UK please visit the ABA website at

Airsoft outside the UKIreland

A few examples of how the issue of Airsoft has been dealt with by other countries (this is by no means an exhaustive list).

Austria

-Airsoft devices with muzzle energy up to 0.8 joule can be purchased without parental supervision by anyone at least 14 years old. Airsoft equipment exceeding 0.8 joule may be purchased by anyone over the age of 18.

Canada

-Minimum age to purchase Airsoft devices is 14 in Ontario. No distinction under the law is made between real firearms and Airsoft devices when used in the commission of a crime.

Hong Kong

-Airsoft devices are legal but may not be fired with a muzzle velocity above 2 joules. The sport is restricted to private areas to avoid accidental run-ins with the general public.

Italy

-The Italians require that Airsoft devices have their tips painted bright orange to distinguish them from the real thing. Airsoft equipment firing below 1 joule is not considered as a firearm under law; however no distinction is made between the Airsoft and real firearm when used in the commission of a crime.

Switzerland

-Airsoft devices are not considered as subject to the weapon legislation and no permission is necessary.

Slovenia

-Any device with a muzzle velocity below 1 joule is considered to be a toy under Slovenian law.

USA

-In the USA it is mandatory for Airsoft devices to have at least 6mm of the tip painted in bright orange in order to distinguish them from their real steel counter parts. Airsoft devices are not considered firearms under federal law. They are, however, prosecuted as though they were real when used in the commission of a crime.

Other countries where Airsoft is a legitimate sport, include; Japan, Norway, Indonesia, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Lithuania, Switzerland, Belgium, the CzechRepublic and Romania.